Free speech vs. bad manners

It's always surprising when talented people suffer from self-inflicted wounds. Nikki Giovanni's classless diatribe on Fountain Square Saturday was a bullet to her credibility.

Good poets use words to help us see the nuances of the world in front of us. But there was nothing nuanced about Giovanni's performance. She acted like a bully and delivered a verbal sucker punch when she used the rededication of the square for an assault on gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell.

Giovanni is a talented poet, raised in Greater Cincinnati. It was because of that talent that she was invited to participate in what was supposed to be a celebration of the city and an open-armed invitation for people to come downtown.

But Giovanni apparently didn't want to celebrate a renewal; she wanted to pick at old wounds with a reference to police who "shoot young black men in the back." And she certainly didn't want to reach out to all segments of the community when she called Cincinnati native Blackwell "a son of a bitch."

Fountain Square is the city's centerpiece. It is designed to let us mingle, to talk, to enjoy the city's diverse offerings. It even is there to provide a soapbox for those who wish to stand up and have their say.

Giovanni's poem, "I am Cincinnati," must be defended as free speech. As former mayor Charlie Luken commented Saturday, it showed that the square will be the community's "chat room."

But while Giovanni's speech was free, her words should cost something to her reputation. She was invited to give voice to a family-friendly celebration. An early draft she provided to event organizers from the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. didn't contain the reference to Blackwell, 3CDC officials said at a Monday press conference.

The public reaction has been swift. The Enquirer's blogs, a chat set up on Cincinnati.Com and the letters file filled up with comments on Giovanni's reading:

"Since when does artistic license allow for vulgarity at the grand opening of a community event?"

"I was shocked by the words cited at the grand unveiling of Fountain Square by the famous poet."

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Free speech vs. bad manners

Nikki Giovanni's classless diatribe on Fountain Square was a bullet to her credibility.